


You Make the Difference

by xfilessage



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: 2x12, Bisexual Character, Coming Out, F/F, First Kiss, Mutual Pining, POV Claire Browne, takes place right after the episode that just aired, you could say it's the aftermath of aftermath
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 13:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17529353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xfilessage/pseuds/xfilessage
Summary: The fact that she had feelings for a woman wasn’t the problem; Claire had had feelings for many women throughout her life, and even dated a few. No, what scared her was that the woman she was developing real, romantic feelings for was Morgan Reznick.And why had Morgan said it had been a good day?





	You Make the Difference

“It was a good day,” Morgan had said.

Claire hadn’t stopped thinking about that. Because objectively, it couldn’t have been a good day for Morgan at all. Tyler was dead, and instead of grieving, Morgan had spent the day surrounded by family drama that she didn’t have to be involved in. It should have been an awful day.

Why had she said it, then?

Claire rolled over in bed, pressing her face to the pillow. It wasn’t the first night she had stayed up thinking about Morgan Reznick. She had been attracted to her from the first time they met, but Morgan had never given her any indication that there was anything soft or  _ real  _ behind that pretty face. However, their day off had changed all of that. There was depth behind those sea-glass green eyes, behind that painted smile. There was someone there that Morgan didn’t want the world to see.

Claire had never wanted to meet anyone more in her life. And that scared her.

The fact that she had feelings for a woman wasn’t the problem; Claire had had feelings for many women throughout her life, and even dated a few. No, what scared her was that the woman she was developing real, romantic feelings for was _Morgan Reznick_. 

That was terrifying enough that Claire had let her composure slip-- when Morgan had joked that she needed to return the favour by having Claire meet  _ her  _ mother, Claire had said, “It’s a date.” They’d gone their separate ways after that, but Claire couldn’t help but regret saying it. Was Morgan lying awake right now, like Claire was, trying to decode that statement?

No. Probably not.

But maybe.

Before Claire’s brain could catch up to her heart, she had thrown a coat over her pyjamas, ran out into the rain, and started to drive.

Standing on Morgan’s doorstep, the rain was cold as regret. Claire cursed under her breath before knocking.

It didn’t take long for Morgan to come to the door. When she saw Claire, her eyes flashed wide. “Claire?” she asked. “It’s almost midnight. Are you okay? Is your mom--?”

“Why did you say today was a good day?” Claire blurted out.

Morgan’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s a weird question.” Claire pinched the bridge of her nose. “But I can’t sleep. I-I keep thinking about what you said. You couldn't have really enjoyed today.”

Morgan stared at her for a few moments. “Why don’t you come in?” she suggested finally.

Inside, Morgan disappeared into the kitchen to turn the kettle on. As she was peeling off her wet coat, Claire caught her reflection in a gold-rimmed mirror on the wall. The rain had plastered her curly hair into a scraggly mess, and her exhaustion was smudged beneath her eyes.

_ Why am I even here? _

She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to wring some of the water out. By the time Morgan returned with two steaming mugs of tea, Claire had managed to revive some of her hair’s usual bounce. “Thank you,” she said, accepting one of the mugs.

Morgan gestured to the couch, and the two of them sat down. “So you want to know why I said today was a good day?” she asked. “Well, to be honest, it’s because this is the first time the two of us have really spent any time together outside of the hospital.”

Claire froze with the rim of the mug touching her lower lip. “Really?” she said.

“You sound surprised.”

“I never thought you enjoyed my company at all.”

“I like you,” said Morgan. “I’m just bad at expressing how I feel, and this is all… really new to me.”

Claire stared back at her. “What do you mean?”

“You’re really going to make me say it, are you?” sighed Morgan, setting down her mug. “Well… I have feelings for you, Claire. At least, I think I do. I’m still figuring all of this out.”

Those were the words Claire had been waiting to hear, but no amount of fantasizing could have prepared her to actually hear them. She set down her mug, adrenaline buzzing just under her skin, heat spreading through her chest. “You… you have feelings for me?” she asked. “I thought you hated me, Morgan.”

“I don’t hate you,” Morgan replied. “I really don’t. It’s just hard for me to… admit that I like someone. Especially you. Again, this is all really new to me. I’ve never liked a woman this way before. But you, Claire…” She sighed again. “I didn’t make that fake Tinder profile so I could check out the competition. I made it so I could look at your profile and… and think about swiping right. And for a second, at your mom’s place… when you said ‘it’s a date’… I thought, maybe you felt the same way. I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry, Claire.”

“You weren’t wrong,” Claire said quickly. “Morgan, I… I like you too. I think you’re a good person, even if you don’t always show it. And I think you’re badass.”

Morgan beamed, warm and genuine. “Really?”

“Really,” said Claire. “You need me to prove it to you?”

Pink blossomed across Morgan’s pale cheeks. “Kind of, yeah,” she breathed.

Claire moved toward her on the couch. Morgan was very still, her green eyes darting back and forth.

“You’re nervous,” remarked Claire.

“I’ve never kissed a woman before,” admitted Morgan. “Have you?”

Claire grinned. “I guess you were right before when you said we didn’t really know each other.” She leaned in, closing the gap between them, and brushed her lower lip across Morgan’s. She felt Morgan shiver as if it were happening to her. 

And then she kissed her.

Morgan tasted like Earl Grey tea and sugar. Like warmth incarnate. It wasn’t how Claire had expected her to taste, whenever the thought of pushing Morgan Reznick up against a wall had crossed her mind. She had always fantasized about kissing Morgan in the middle of an argument. To shut her up. She had always imagined it to be the kind of affair where books and papers are thrown off of desks to make room for bodies. She had always imagined Morgan to kiss as sharply as she spoke. She never would have imagined the kiss to be so slow, so gentle, sitting on a couch with the rain pattering down outside. 

Maybe Morgan was right.

It was a good day after all.


End file.
